December 2007

Don't forget to "bookmark" the council website to get current information about training, meetings, announcements etc. www.lisdpta.org You can also access Area 16, Texas PTA and National PTA websites through our "partners" page.

Council Regular Meeting Date

Our next Regular Meeting Date is Wednesday, January
16, 2008

See you there!!

Councils provide opportunities for local units to meet and share knowledge and information, receive training and coordinate efforts. A council is the key link in communication among state, area and the local units. Councils provide support and guidance to the local units, while serving as a role-model to their membership.

Texas PTA Council Presidents' Supplement, 2007

A Message From Your Council President

Reflections article pictures

We just celebrated Thanksgiving and Lewisville Council has many things to be thankful for this year. A big part of our success in helping LISD families is what you do each and every day at your local units. Council is here to support your efforts and we are so proud and appreciative of our 63 PTAs.

I am a strong believer that you can't communicate too much (just ask the local presidents how many emails they get from me!!) This newsletter is packed full of information and I'm going to let it speak for itself. Be sure to forward on to your board and members to help us "communicate" effectively with everyone.

There is not a Council Regular meeting in December so I will see you at the January 16^th meeting. December is a nice time to reflect on what has been accomplished and what is ahead still this school year. January starts up again full steam so get your rest and be ready to roll with us. Our next Council Connection will be out the first of January.

Have a special holiday season with your friends and family.

Send a handwritten note today to surprise an old friend -

Kris Vaughn

President, LISD Council of PTAs

president@lisdpta.org

214.513.8359

p.s. No Council Regular Meeting in December

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National PTA Press Release

The press release below was posted to the National PTA Website on November 7, 2007.

PTA: Utah Wins Crucial Battle for Public Schools, Students

CHICAGO (November 7, 2007) National PTA commends the hard work of the education community in Utah, who yesterday voted overwhelmingly to keep public funds for public schools. With more than 60 percent of the votes, Utahns rejected the universal school voucher law passed by the Utah Legislature in February. Though the voucher program was defeated handily, this victory for schools and students was not easily won.

The leadership and efforts of the Utah PTA, its members, allies and the will of the people of Utah are evidenced both by the voucher program having been defeated in every voting precinct and the extraordinarily high voter turnout in an off-election year. This historic victory for Utah is also important for the rest of our nation. The Utah universal voucher program would have set a precedent for states. In fact, other states had begun to draw plans to follow in the footsteps of the Utah Legislature had the program been enacted.

PTA strongly supports public funds for public schools and opposes using tax dollars to finance education vouchers for private and religious schools. Our public education system must be strengthened and supported by adequate funding and must continue to be governed by public officials who are accountable to the public.

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LISD School Board Meetings

LISD Board of Trustees meetings

are held in the Board Room of the William T. Bolin Administrative Center, 1565 W. Main St., Lewisville, at 7 p.m.

December 10, 2007
January 14, 2008
February 11, 2008
March 10, 2008
April 14, 2008
May 19, 2008
June 16, 2008
July 14, 2008
August 11, 2008
September 8, 2008

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Lewisville Council of PTA's Goals

· Educate local units about council support and resources

· Provide training and exposure for all PTA leaders and volunteers

· Actively include and encourage all local units to be involved with Council activities

Communicate

Advocate

Rejuvenate

Educate

Reflections

Council collection Saturday, Nov. 10, turned out to be a nice day with some great helpers. To make things even better I learned a new lesson. When you are having people help you and you do not know them very well, then you should have a sign in sheet. That way you know who to say thank you too. I'm sure you know who you are when I say

"Thank YOU very much!"

I would like to extend a special thank you to Lisa Tittle and Christine Rountree who came to my house the following Saturday and helped me out by playing stick the entry number on the appropriate entry. They even took a number of entries to their homes to continue the work.

As long as I am thanking my helpers, in such a fashion as this, then I may as well take the time to thank all of the school PTA volunteers. The very volunteers who organized their schools Reflections Programs, received 2,047 entries, and made arrangements for delivering 526 of these to council. So give yourselves a big pat on the back and prepare yourselves for

What Lies Ahead!

Absolutely nothing, that I can think of, until the entries have been judged. Then it is time to enter scores and determine awards. (Not my favorite part)

After that we have:

Hanging the advancing entries in the Lewisville Library:

The exact details of when they can be displayed have not been worked out but they will need to be taken down in time for transferring them to Area on January 5.

Awards Celebration:

This will take place on Sunday, January 6, 2008, in the Flower Mound High School, Auditorium and its atrium. It is reserved from 12:00 - 4:00 and the doors will open to general admittance at 1:00. (This will only be an event for those who are advancing to council which will be around 105 students and their families.)

That is all for now so keep on thinking with your head and creating, with your heart.

Jay C. Shannon

LISD Art and Education Chairman

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Bowling for Scholars - January 26, 2008

Our 5^th Annual Bowling for Scholars Tournament is Saturday, January 26, 2008. The Council awards two $500 scholarships to graduating seniors at each LISD high school. Without your support, these scholarships are not possible.

Registration fees are $25 per adult/$20 junior with 4-person teams. (Junior Division is age 6 - 12). This includes 3 games, shoe rental, and a Bowling for Scholars t-shirt. Three shifts of games will be available:

9 - 11 am; 11:30 am - 1:30 pm & 2 - 4 pm.

Trophies will be awarded to the top teams, as well as other prizes including the school with the most teams, best team name, worst score etc.

Team registration deadline is December 21^st. Click here for registration form and also available on council website. Contact Tracie Owens at bowling4scholars@lisdpta.org or 972-874-7191 with questions.

Did You Know?

National PTA Logo

National PTA

Be sure to check out the 2007 Holiday Online Auction hosted by National PTA. The deadline is December 3^rd so you don't have much time.

Auction items include:

Vacation getaways

Sports memorabilia

Books

Candles

Office products and more.

Proceeds from the auction help PTA further its Mission of being a powerful voice for all children, a relevant resource for families and communities, and a strong advocate for the education and well-being of every child. www.pta.org

Texas PTA

Registration is now open for the Texas PTA 99^th Annual State Convention in The Woodlands on February 22-24. Training is a top priority in PTA and Texas State Convention is a wonderful opportunity! See link below for registration and sign up for specific workshops. We will also discuss convention at the January Regular Meeting.

Congratulations to Leah Rodriguez from Flower Mound Elementary who won free Early Bird Registration at the November Council Regular Meeting. (one ticket entered for each meeting attended in the fall) We will be drawing in May for registration to Summer Leadership Seminar. Be sure to attend those Council meetings!

Area 16

The December edition of "Sweet 16 News", Texas PTA Area 16 newsletter, is available online. For future reference, it is also posted on the "News" page of their website at www.area16pta.org.

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Texas PTA Convention

Registration is now open for

CONVENTION 2008

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Marriott Waterway Hotel in The Woodlands

[ February 22-24 ]

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Convention 2008, Building a Stronger Texas, will include many fun activities and useful workshops covering a wide range of topics. Statewide elections will also be held at this years event, so it is important for delegates to attend and cast their votes.

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Online registration is easy and convenient. Simply click HERE to begin.

Or visit our WEBSITE for the complete registration packet, hotel information and more.

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Please feel free to contact us at meetingplanner@txpta.org if you have any questions or need additional information.We look forward to seeing you in February!

We hope you can join us!

Founder's Day Dinner

LISD Council of PTAs

Founder's Day Dinner

Thursday, Feb 28, 2008

7:00 - 9:30 PM

DFW Marriott

Tickets $20 per person, advance purchase only

Reservation/payment due January 25, 2008
More information available at the January Council Meeting
Invitations go out to all past honorees and local PTA units after Winter Break

Founders Day, the anniversary of the formation of National PTA in 1897, is a reminder of the substantial role that PTA has played locally, regionally, and nationally in supporting parent involvement and working on behalf of all children and families. It's a time to reflect and take pride in our many accomplishments, and to renew our commitment to be a powerful voice for all children, a relevant resource for parents, and a strong advocate for public education.

LISD Council of PTAs hosts its annual Founder's Day Dinner to honor past and present recipients of the Texas PTA Life Member, National PTA Life Member and/or Extended Service Awards.

It's time to start

forming your local unit Life Member Committee - check your bylaws and standing rules for more information.
amending your budget and/or standing rules if they do not already allow for you to purchase dinner tickets for your honoree(s) or executive officers to attend
planning how your local unit will present the awards to your honoree(s)

If you have any questions or would like to be on the Founder's Day Committee, please contact:

Michelle McDaniel

LISD Council of PTAs

Founder's Day Chairman

(972) 906-7221

michellemcdaniel@verizon.net

Around the Corner

December 21, Bowling for Scholars registration deadline. bowling4scholars@lisdpta.org or (972)874-7191
January 6, Reflections Reception for Council Level Winners - FMHS artsineducation@lisdpta.org
January 16, Council Regular Meeting; 9:30 am
February 22-24, Texas PTA Annual Convention, The Woodlands
February 28, Founder's Day - DFW Marriott. foundersday@lisdpta.org
April 19, Vendor fair - Questions? vendorfair@lisdpta.org

See council website for more details on calendar

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Website Scavenger Hunt

Remember scavenger hunts when you were a kid?

The Lewisville Council of PTAs has one for you that will include "hunting" Council, Area 16, Texas PTA and National websites. What a fun way to encourage everyone to become familiar with the resources available from these PTAs. Each correct entry will be entered in a drawing for a $25 gift card donated by Conn's Appliance Store. The winner will be announced in our January Council Connection. Deadline to submit entries is Friday, December 21st. See www.lisdpta.org for all the details. (Feel free to use this idea for your website and members)

Getting to Know You - Meet the Council Board

Michelle McDaniel - Founder's Day

Native Texan (born and raised in Houston, have lived in the Dallas area for 20 years)
1986 Graduate of Texas A&M University, College Station
Married to Craig for 17 years
Two sons - Austin, Shadow Ridge Middle School 7th grader, and Nolan, Old Settlers Elementary 5th grader
2 Dogs - Grounder (chocolate lab) and Poppy (golden retriever)
Moved to Flower Mound in 2005
Part time job: teaching computer classes at day care centers for PC KIdz

Charise Champagne - Parent Education

Graduated from the University of Oklahoma...Boomer Sooner!
Have lived in Flower Mound for 14 years with a couple of hiatuses to live in Tokyo, Japan and New Jersey.
Married for 16 years and have twin 4th graders who attend Liberty Elementary.
Prior to staying home and getting involved in volunteer work, I was a buyer for Neiman Marcus and prior to that, Foley's.
My Hobbies are scrapbooking, reading, Southern Living at Home business, and being an avid fan of my kid's sports(that's my favorite)!!
I am enjoying serving on Council this year, and it is my hope that I am helpful and providing good information!!

Inta Jensen, Vendor Fair

Born in Lansing, Michigan; lived in Haslett, MI for 21 years
Attended Michigan State - B.S. in Merchandising Management & Human Environment Design
Mother & Father were born in Latvia (small country on Baltic Sea under Soviet occupation until 1990)
Parents immigrated to U.S. after living in displaced persons camps in Germany for 5 years
Grew up speaking Latvian and attended Latvian school and summer camps
Lived in Florida and Chicago after graduation from college
Folk danced with Latvian group in Chicago and played on Latvian volleyball teams
Met husband, Eric, in Chicago and soon relocated to Denver, CO for 6 years
Moved to Flower Mound in 2000
Two boys, Alex - 4th grade and Ben - 2nd grade at Wellington Elementary
Hobbies - running, volleyball, biking, swimming, skiing, gardening and scrap booking

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Approved LISD Vendor List

Local PTAs are strongly encouraged to utilize vendors on the LISD Approved Vendor List. These vendors have had references checked and established a relationship with the district. If you have a problem with one of these vendors, the LISD Purchasing Department is available to help. Click here for the 2007 - 2008 list.

Our annual Vendor Fair is Saturday, April 19.